The highest level you can get is level 20. That takes around 29,450 XP to reach (20 – 30 hours of your life). Below are a few ways to gain, earn, and use XP in Fallout 3.

Gaining XPYou'll gain XP after completing a main story quest or a side quest. Search out these quests by talking to different people in some of the various towns throughout the Capital Wasteland. Also, check the Side Quests, City Guide, and Walkthrough sections of the SuperGuide for more information on gaining XP.

Earning XPThe most obvious way to level up is by killing enemies throughout the Capital Wasteland. But here's a nice exploit to boost XP on each kill. When you come across an enemy (be sure that you can defeat it), go in the main menu and adjust the difficulty up a few notches. Kill the enemy, and you'll receive more XP. This works well when you're starting out in the game. Check out the video made by the MyCheats staff for more information.

Also, get some sleep every now and again. If you sleep in a rented bed, or in your own bed, you'll have a +10% XP bonus for the next twelve in-game hours.

Using XP Using XP is all about how you want to spend your XP on your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and Perks. You're allowed to adjust these each time you level up. For more on this, check our S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and Perks sections of the SuperGuide. For example, if you have the Swift Learner perk, you'll get 10% extra XP for every rank, reward, and kill you achieve in the game.

KarmaKarma is the definition for how good or evil you're playing in Fallout 3. It helps you find followers, how people will treat you via unique dialog options, where you can travel (or not travel) to, and it can even affect the ending of the game (depending how much you have accrued). Below are a few of the perks to having a good, neutral, or evil karma rating:

Good Karma Allowances (+250 Karma)

Fawkes (Vault 87) and Paladin Cross (the Citadel) can become followers.

Expect to be attacked by raiders all the time when you're out on the road.

Evil characters will be hard to win over during dialog exchanges.

Good karma titles and achievements.

If you reach a very good rating, some characters will even give you gifts like caps, ammo, and food.